Chapter 1 How Students Learn

Assessing Needs and Learning Styles : Important Innovations in the Curriculum

The role of educators in student learning and development has become more challenging now than ever . Although not much has been changed on the principles of education , the strategies vary to address the different needs of learners . In Author (year , we find an important role of the educator in assessing classroom learning

Author emphasizes the role of the educator to design effective teaching strategies according to the needs of the learners . In to do this pre-assessment should be conducted initially . Pre-assessments

such as written tests , essays , checklists , eliciting students ' background knowledge through constructing concept maps , illustration , etc . are helpful to construct an analysis of learners ' needs

Pre-assessment also helps identify student background . By these assessment tools , educators can identify multiple intelligences . Taking from Gardner , identifying multiple intelligences could serve as a guide in discerning students ' needs . By assessing multiple intelligences , the educator could arrive at the different learning styles of individual students . Taking into consideration their intelligences , educators can design classroom activities and lessons tailored to the students learning styles . For example , if a learner is musically inclined , it may help to provide activities that involve listening to music or the likes in to capture the learner 's interest . The same is true with interpersonally gifted learners

Classroom activities such as conducting interviews and group dynamics are particularly ideal for this kind of learner . By pre-assessment of learners ' multiple intelligences , the educator would be able to further develop their special skills , making them excel more in the class and share the talent they have with others

Aside from pre-assessments , unit assessments are also important . They are used to obtain a report of what students have learned , and what they still need to learn . Conducting regular unit assessments will make students aware of their progress , so that they too would know how to improve . Aside from learning about their progress , these measurement tools are essential in determining effectiveness of teaching styles and strategies . The educator would be able to evaluate whether the activities designed are effective and relevant to students ' needs Importantly , activities should be aligned to students ' learning styles to make them effective . Some forms of unit assessments include unit tests , summative tests , recitation , group presentation self-assessments , essays , and other enrichment activities related to the s taught . To ensure that classroom activities fit learners ' needs and styles , constant observation of student responses should be applied The educator should make it a point to observe how students respond to each activity . For instance , during reading activities , the educator could provide self-assessment tools to monitor visualization , scanning text-marking , questioning , comprehension , and analysis . The tools can be in the form of guide questions given at the beginning or at the end . At other times , the teacher could also check on their pace by asking them in what page they are , or approaching them one by one to see if they understand what they read . Doing this would make students aware of...